A panic response to a non-existent problem
The BBC (via) is reporting that police chiefs are calling on the government to make flag-burning a new criminal offence, as part of a drive to crack down on Islamic extremists and others preaching violence and religious hate.
Civil rights group Liberty described the proposed new laws as “unnecessary”.
Shami Chakrabarti, Liberty’s director, said: “It looks like some people have been watching too many American movies.”
As understatements go, I think “unnecessary” wins the prize for the week. When, exactly, was the last time that someone burned a flag in the UK? And who is actually harmed by flag burning?
At the end of the day, a flag is a piece of cloth. If you go out and buy one, then why shouldn’t you be allowed to set fire to it?
Granted, there are some safety issues around waving burning bits of material around, but there are also plenty of public safety laws that should more than adequately be able to cover this.
This looks very much like a demand for a piece of legislation to “send a message” rather than actually achieve anything. In itself, this makes it the demand an inherently dangerous one. And this is compounded by the fact that the message that the police chiefs want to send is that “you have the right to express your views but only when and how it suits us.”
Monday 30 Oct 2006 | Paul | UK
